Cattle-guard



(No Model.) v

' W. G. HALLEY.

OATTLE GUARD.

No. 571,616. Patented Nov. 17, 1896.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

VALTER COLQUETT IIALLEY, OF HALLEY, ARKANSAS.

CATTLE-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters "Patent No. 571,616, datedNovember 17, 1896.

Application filed April 2, 1896. Serial No. 585,889. (No modeL To allwhom it may concern.-

3e it known that I, WALTER CoLoun'rT IIALLEY, of Halley, in the countyof Desha and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and ImprovedCattle-Guard, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to certain improvements in cattle-guards, such asare adapted for use on railways and in similar locations, for preventingthe passage of cattle along the railway-track from one field or pastureinto another, and the object of the invention is to provide adevice ofthis character of a simple and inexpensive natureavhich shall be adaptedto prevent the passage of the cattle along the track, whereby thederailment of trains passing over the railway and the killing of thecattle will be prevented.

The invention will be fully described hereinafter and defined in theclaims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forming apart ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1. is a plan view showinga portion of a line of railway providedwith 'a cattle-guard constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig.2 is a sectional view taken in the plane indicated by the line CL (1in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing the escapeinentdevice employed for releasing and stopping the springactuated disk. Fig.4 is a detail view of the cartridge-holderto behereinafter described.

In the views, 1 1 indicate the railway-rails,

I mounted in the usual way upon ties 2, and 3 indicates a platform madeup of wooden slats extending transversely across an open frame formed ofside bars 4, connected at their ends by a cross -piece 5, said side barsbeing mounted pivotally at their central portions,as indicated at 6 onone of the ties 2. The platform extends only over the forward end of thepivoted frame, and the forward end of said frame is pivotally connectedby means of links 7 at its opposite sides with the ends of levers S,pivoted, as shown at 9, adjacent to the track and extending laterallyaway from the same. These levers 8, when tilted or moved pivotally,serve to release and stop the gates,as will be hereinafter explained, soas to permit the gates to be opened and closed,

one of the gates being mounted on each side of the track and adapted toswing transversely across the same, as indicated in dotted lines at inFig. 1. The gates and the devices connected thereto for operating themare, as herein shown, exactly similar, and for this reason I will onlydescribe the detailed construction of one gate and its actuatingdevices.

The outer end of each lever S is connected by means of a link 1(),asclearly shown in Fig. 3, with one end of a pallet-lever 11, privoted at12 and having laterally-extending arms arranged to engage pins 1arranged in a circular series on the under side of a wheel or disk 14L,mounted on a shaft 15, stepped at its lower end in a bearing 16, carriedin aframe 17, the upper end of the shaft 15 being also journaled in saidframe and provided with a squared end 15, adapted to receive a key orthelike, whereby the shaft may be turned.

On the wheel ll is mounted a spring-barrel 18, containing a spring, andthe wheel or disk 1st and the barrel 18 are loose on the shaft, thespring contained in said springbarrel being fixed to the shaft andadapted to be placed under tension when said shaft is turned; and inorder to hold the shaft against back rotation when the spring is woundup I provide said shaft with a ratchet-wheel 20, fixed thereon andengaged by a pawl or dog 19, carried on the spring-barrel 1S. 3y thisconstruction it will be seen that when the palletle'ver 11 is rocked soas to cause the arms at opposite ends thereof to be alternately raisedand lowered the wheel or disk 14: will be intermittently actuated fromthe spring contained in the barrel 18.

The upper portion of the frame 17 whereon the shaft 15 is journaled isprovided with a projecting bearingpiece 22, whereon is mounted to turnor swing pivotally the springpost of a gate 2%, said spring-post beingprovided with a spring 23, tending to hold the gate normally in a closedposition, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, and on the spring-postis formed a rearwardly-proj ecting car or linger 25, adapted to beengaged by the pins 1 carried on the lower side of the disk or wheel ll.\Vhen swung to its open position, the gate 24.- is adapted to engage astop 26, whereby its movement is limited,

and on the end of the gate is mounted a pro- ,jecting pin or striker 27,adapted when the gate is swung to its closed position, as indicated indotted lines at :0 in Fig. 1, to contact with a firing-pin 28, arrangedin the head of a dog-like figure 29, mounted between the tracks and inthe rear of the platform 3, said doglike figure being adapted to receivea cartridge or the like to be exploded by the firingpin when the gatesare closed. This construcstruction is shown in Fig. 4:.

In operation when an animal steps upon the platform 3 in passing alongthe track said platform will be depressed so as to swing the levers 8 todisengage one arm of each palletlever 11 and engage the other armthereof with the pins or projections 13 on the disk or wheel 14, wherebyeach wheel or disk is permitted to be driven by its spring a distancecorresponding to the space between the pins thereon. In this way it willbe seen that the gates 24 will be released and permitted to be swungpivotally by means of their sprin 23, so as to stand transversely acrossthe track, as indicated at 00 in Fig. 1, and when in this position, therear ends of the side bars 40f the frame whereon the platform 3 iscarried being raised, said gates will be caused to engage and ride OVGLspring stops or detents 30, carried on said side bars 4, whereby thegates will be held closed until. the animal steps off the platform 3 andpermits said platform to rise, so as to lower the rear ends of the sidebars a and disengage said detents 30 from the gates. \Vhen the gatecloses, the cartridge is exploded so as to frighten the animal away fromthe platform. WVhen the animal steps off the platform 3 and the samerises, the pallet-lever 11 is again rocked so as to cause one of thepins 13 thereon to engage the ear or finger 25 on the spring-post 23 ofthe gate, whereby said gate will be swung pivotally to its openposition, as shown in Fig. 1, and when thus swung the gate will be heldopen by means of the pin 13, the disk or wheel 14 being stopped againstrotation by the arm of the pallet-lever 11, while the pin 13 is still inengagement with said finger 25, as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

From the above description it will be seen that the device is of anextremely simple and inexpensive nature and is especially adapted forthe purposes for which it is designed, and it will also be obvious thatthe invention is susceptible of some modification without materialdeparture from its principles and spirit, and for this reason I do notwish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise form andarrangement of the parts herein set forth.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. In a cattle-guard, the combination of a pivotedgate adapted to be mounted at the side of a railway-track or the like,means tending to swing the gate transversely across the track, a spring,a Wheel actuated from the spring and provided with means to open thegate, and a tilting device to be actuated by an animal passing along thetrack, and arranged to control the said wheel, substantially as setforth.

2. In a cattle-guard, the combination of a pivoted gate adapted to bemounted at the side of a railway-track or the like, means tending toswing the gate transversely across the track, a wheel having drivingmechanism and provided with means to open the gate, and a tilting deviceto be actuated by an animal passing along the track, to control themovement of said wheel, substantially as set forth.

3. In a cattle-guard, the combination of a pivoted gate adapted to bemounted at the side of a railway-track or the like, means tending toswing the gate transversely across the track, means to hold the gateopen, a tilting device to be actuated by an animal passing along thetrack, and arranged to release the gate, and a figure arranged adjacentto the tilting device and provided with a cartridge-chamber and afiring-pin to be engage d by the gate when swung transversely across thetrack, substantially as set forth.

4. In a cattle-guard, the combination of a pivoted gate adapted to bemounted at the side of a railway-track or the like, means tending toswing the gate transversely across the track, a rotative spring-actuatedwheel, pins on the wheel, an ear on the gate to be engaged by the pins,said pins being arranged to engage the car on the gate when the wheel isturned to open the gate, and a tilting device adapted to be actuated byan animal passing along the track, and arranged to control said wheel,substantially as set forth.

5. In a cattle-guard, the combination of a pivoted gate adapted to bemounted at the side of a railway-track or the like, means tending toswing the gate transversely across the track, a rotative spring-actuatedwheel having a series of pins to be engaged by the stop to hold thewheel against turning, an car on the gate to be engaged by said pinswhen the wheel is turned, whereby the gate is opened, and a tiltingdevice arranged to be actuated by an animal passing along the track, andarranged to control the said wheel, substantially as set forth.

6. In a cattle-guard for railways, a gate movable over and from therailway, a spring tending to throw the gate over the railway, a pivoteddisk normally restraining the gate, a pallet-lever controlling the disk,and means for tripping the pallet-lever, substantially as described.

W'ALTER OOLQUETT HALLEY. iVitnesses:

HUNTER HALLEY,

JAMES B. OARMIOHAEL.

ISO

